


Too Sober, Enough Sass

by ladyreapermc



Series: Keanu ficfest! [3]
Category: John Wick (Movies)
Genre: F/M, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 04:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20754272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyreapermc/pseuds/ladyreapermc
Summary: you meet a tall, dark, handsome stranger who saves your life.





	Too Sober, Enough Sass

**Author's Note:**

> So this was based off two prompts from the drabble challenge.  
https://prompt-bank.tumblr.com/post/152084082678/drabble-challenge  
prompt #4: I'm too sober for this  
prompt #83: Enough with the Sass  
In this, John and Helen never met (nothing against her. I do think she deserved a way better destiny than she got). I'm thinking a younger John, still servicing the High Table, looking like Keanu circa 2009.  
English isn't my first language and I had no beta for this.

This wasn’t how the night was supposed to go.

You were supposed to drown your sorrows with your friend Emma by your side to comfort you. She wasn’t supposed to ditch you the second a cute guy winked her way. You weren’t supposed to be left alone at the bar while Emma made out in a corner.

You glanced the couple’s way, noticing they were way past pg-13 and about to be kicked off. With a grimace, you turned back to the bar, signaling for the bartender to bring you another drink

“I’m too sober for this,” you said a little louder than intended and the handsome man perched on the stool next to you snorted and glanced your way.

You've been eyeing him as discreetly as you could since he arrived because he was probably one of the most handsome men you had ever seen. The way his dark suit hugged his well-built frame and the short dark hair and neatly trimmed beard were doing something to your sanity.

The bartender appeared with your ginger ale and you nodded your thanks, taking a sip and sighing. It was as unsatisfying as expected.

“That won’t really help your case,” he said startling you.

You looked over at him and he gestured to your drink with his own glass of whiskey.

“Oh. I have babysitter duties,” you replied with a snort, glancing over your shoulder at your friend. He followed your gaze, before giving you a sympathetic smile.

“That’s bad luck,” he commented and offered you a hand. “I’m John.”

You gave him your name and shook his hand, noticing it was huge around yours.

“So, what brings you here to drink alone, John?”

You turned your body completely to face him. If you couldn’t drink and commiserate with your friend, you might as well flirt with the hot guy in front of you

“Sometimes we are our best company,” John said with a small shrug.

“Wow, that’s...” you paused for a second trying to think on a polite way to phrase it. “really sad and dark.”

John snorted, ducking his head and it was sort of cute, which was something weren’t expecting from a guy like him.

“I guess you have a point,” he said with a smile. “So, you know what that means right? You should have a drink with me.”

You couldn’t help but grin, feeling your cheeks a little warmer. That had been quite a smooth pick up line. But before you could say anything else, Emma appeared by your side, flashing John a smile, before hooking her arm with yours.

“Hi. I have to borrow this lady for a sec,” she said already dragging you to the restroom. “Please, please tell me you have condoms with you.”

You rolled your eyes at Emma. Of course, that was what she wanted. You dug through your purse, finding a solitary foil package at the bottom.

“Are you sure you’re sober enough for this?” you asked and Emma rolled her eyes as she stood on one foot and touched her own nose with her index finger.

“Happy?” she asked, snatching the condom from your hands.

“You do know you’re a terrible friend, right?”

“Oh please!” Emma snorted as she pocketed the condom. “Like you actually mad when a guy like that was chatting you up.”

You rolled your eyes again, more out of habit than anything because Emma was right. Any resentment you had over her actions disappeared the second John started talking to you, but you weren’t gonna give her the satisfaction of being right.

“I’m gonna go. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said with a wink moving to the door.

“There’s nothing you wouldn’t do,” you pointed out and Emma smirked.

“Exactly.”

With a snort, you turned your focus back to the mirror, fixing your hair and refreshing your lipstick, your heart speeding up at the thought of going back to John.

With one last deep, fortifying breath, you stepped out of the restroom, running straight into John’s strong chest. You stumbled back startled and looked at him, catching a strange, dark expression on his face that terrified you a little, but at the same time sent shivers down your spine.

“You need to come with me.”

His voice was low and deep, almost growly and you were reminded of a predator threatening a prey. You took a step back.

“Excuse me? I’m not going anywhere with you,” you protested, trying to keep your voice leveled as you looked around in panic.

There wasn’t anyone around, but you could hear steps coming closer. John must have heard too because his head turned towards the noise, his eyes narrowed, one hand dropping to his waist, the other grabbing your arm.

You struggled as he pulled you towards the back exit, but his hand felt like a steel cuff around your wrist and no matter how much you dug your heels, John continued to tow you like you weighted nothing.

“HELP!” you shouted, listening to the steps rushing towards you. “SOMEBODY, PLEASE!”

You saw a man turn the corner of the hallway as you and John reached the door. You breathed a sigh of relief, but it caught in your throat when the other man raised a gun at you, and you screamed again.

Faster than you could process it, John spun on his heels, covering you with his body just as you heard the shots echoing in the narrow hallway. You felt him pushing you forward, to the door and this time you went willingly because if a guy took bullets for you, he was definitely on your side.

“Don’t stop, don’t look back. Just come with me if you wanna live,” he said, herding you towards the street, one hand on your lower back, the other on his hip and you could see now that he was armed.

You were both walking fast, not quite running. John was grunting low with each step he took, and you glanced at him with a worried look.

“How are you not dead?”

Instead of answering you, John thumped his own chest with such force, you sucked in a sympathetic breath as a metallic clinking sound reached your ears. You looked back to see several round disks on the sidewalk. You looked back at John with wide eyes.

“Shit! Are those bullets? Oh my God, is this a terminator thing? Am I Sara Connor? I’m not badass enough to be Sara Connor!” You spluttered, panic making you weird and incoherent.

John just ignored you in favor of yanking the passenger door of a slick, muscle car open and all but shoved you inside, taking the driver’s seat before speeding down the street. Good thing it was late enough that there wasn’t much traffic.

“Do you know who wants you dead?” John asked, glancing at you and you let out a burst of hysterical laughter.

“Sure. Let me just check my list of nemeses.” You made a show of patting yourself, before glaring at John. “Oh shoot! Must have left it in my other pants!”

“Enough with the sass!” John hissed and scowled at you.

And maybe he might have seen something in your face, the terror and panic because his expression softened along with his grip on the steering wheel.

“Just think, alright?” His voice was still deep, but a lot less growly. “People don’t just wake up with a contract on their heads. Not regular people anyway.”

“I don’t know, alright?” you replied after thinking for a moment.

You were just an accountant at Wolfram & Hart. The most dangerous thing you’ve ever been involved in was reading spy books and ordering Chinese from the cheap and suspicious restaurant a couple of blocks away from your apartment. And you told John just that.

“Wolfram & Hart as in the investment firm accused of embezzlement last week?” John asked, glancing at you and you nodded.

You were the one that caught the strange proceedings and reported it… oh. 

“Shit! My bosses are trying to kill me? When did my life turn into a Tom Clancy novel?”

You looked at him with wide eyes and John took your hand, squeezing slightly.

“You’ll be ok. I promise.”

There was such certainty in his tone and in his intense, brown eyes that you couldn’t dream on doubting him. So, you just nodded, feeling your heart finally slowing down, breathing returning to normal as John pulled up in front of a hotel.

He led you inside and towards the front desk, greeting the concierge with a short nod.

“Mr. Wick,” the concierge greeted with a quick glance your way before his focus turned back to John. “A room for the night?”

John looked at you for a second with a thoughtful frown, before he nodded, and slid a gold coin across the counter.

“That should be enough, but I’ll call in case I need to extend it, Charon.”

The concierge nodded and handed John a keycard. With one last nod towards Charon, John led you first to the elevators, then to a fancy suite on the eighth floor, overlooking Manhattan. If you weren’t so terrified, you’d appreciate the view a lot more.

“What kind of hotel takes gold coins as payment?” You asked as the two of you stepped inside. “What kind of person pays for a room with gold coins?”

“It’s a long story,” John replied. “The only thing that matters is that you’ll be safe here while I take care of this.”

“Why are you helping me?” you asked as the two of you stood in front of one another.

How come you didn’t notice how huge John was? Not only tall but also had broad shoulders and strong arms. His big hands were so big they covered the entire side of your face as he cupped your cheek gently, his palm rough and warm against your skin.

“I don’t know,” he said in a low voice, staring into your eyes, stealing your breath. “Just felt right.”

You were half-expecting him to kiss you and you wanted him to. Instead, John cleared his throat and stepped away from and you immediately felt the loss.

“I have to go now,” he said, glancing at you. “Don’t leave this room until I come back for you.”

There was something in his tone that didn’t leave you any room to question it. So, you just nodded and watched John leave.

As you waited for John, you walked around, exploring every inch of the room until you were bored. You tried to watch TV, but your anxiety didn’t allow you to sit still long enough to enjoy it, intrusive thoughts distracting you all the time.

What if John didn’t come back? What if something bad happened to him? What would she do then? He only paid for the night. It wasn’t like you had any gold coin lying around and you had a pretty good feeling that the hotel wouldn’t take your Visa. What if you went home and they were waiting there to kill you?

With those thoughts swimming through your brain, you were not sure how you managed to fall asleep. But you jumped awake and terrified when John called your name softly. It took you a second to register that yes, it was him. He was alive and well and you’re throwing yourself in his arms without even thinking it through.

“Oh, thank God!”

“It’s alright,” he reassured, hugging you close, petting your hair. “It’s over now. You’re safe.”

For a moment, you just let yourself be held by John, letting all the overwhelming feelings of the night bleed out from you as he comforted you until you finally felt like you could pull back and look at him.

Gone was the intense and focused expression, replaced by a soft look that seemed almost full of wonder and confusion as he watched you and traced the shape of your face with his fingers.

Before you could chicken out of it, you pressed your lips to his and felt him sigh against your mouth before he kissed you back, tongue sliding against yours. You tasted coffee and cigarettes, his beard tickling the skin of your upper lip.

“Come on, let me take you home,” he said as the two of you broke apart and you nodded.

The ride to your apartment was made in comfortable silence. You kept sneaking glances at him, wondering if this was finally the moment you would tell you what the hell happened, who he was and how he took care of your problem.

“Come inside?” you asked once he walked you to your door.

“I shouldn’t.”

You smile fell as John avoided your eyes, taking a few steps away from you.

“John…” you started, but he shook his head, making you trail off.

“It’s for the best,” John sighed and looked up to meet your eyes. “You don’t belong in my world.”

You knew he had a point of course, even if you didn’t understand enough of what had happened, of what he had done for you. But you understood that there was a considerable amount of danger envolved

“Thank you,” you managed, voice breaking as you fought tears. And why were even crying? You barely knew this man. John nodded too, pressed one final kiss to her cheek, before walking away.

You stayed by the door, fingers pressed to the spot on your cheek his lips had just touched until the elevator’s doors finally closed, taking John away from your sight and your life.

xxx


End file.
